Solar energy collection panels are typically mounted on rooftops with an elevated framing system consisting of vertical stanchions, normally secured to roof joists and lateral rails. Since the vertical stanchions must extend through the roof decking to reach the joists, sheet metal flashing must be installed around the openings in order to prevent leakage. The lateral rails are then bolted to the top of the stanchions, upon which the solar panels are fastened using clamps and bolts, while the structure is held in place by field installation personnel. This type of system allows many different solar panel types and sizes to comply with typical structural member spacing of 24″ to 32″ on center, but requires a substantial collection of specialized hardware components and intensive field labor to measure, cut, drill, and attach the hardware to the rooftop.
A recent attempt to overcome some of the limitations of elevated framing systems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,424,255 ('255 Patent). The '255 Patent discloses the utilization of mounting assemblies that appear to replace use of vertical stanchions and attached lateral rails as in the prior art. However the patent's mounting assembly does not disclose or suggest any structure that is integral with the assembly that could be used to simultaneously align a solar panel both longitudinally and latitudinally on the roof of a structure. In fact, the patent actually teaches away from providing a mounting assembly that provides for a bi-directional alignment of a solar panel since the patent discloses and illustrates that a separate layout tool should be used to ensure that the solar panels are aligned properly along “two axes” (Col 6, lines 36-50).